The Ball of Lunarez - Courting your queenly sister
by Moto-kun
Summary: A careful request. Or a careless one? Princess Anna isn't so sure about that anymore after her sister actually said yes to this question of hers. But now that the realization hits her, she has to see how to court her sister, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, properly. / Anna x Elsa
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Well, so in between writing a German Elsanna fan fiction with several chapters (like for the first time really 8D) I got so many other ideas for stories as well. This is one of them, and I'll admit that I started rather spontaneously after having this English first line and the moon ball thing in my head.**

 **So I'll kind of see what'll happen while I start typing :DD Not the best type of writing, I'm aware, but let's see what it'll bring :)**

 **I** **had this first chapter basically typed like two months ago already, but wasn't sure if it might seem a bit _too_ illogical as a start. Here it is now anyway. Hopefully clearing things up a bit in following chapters.  
**

 **As always, I hope I'm not making too many mistakes with the English.**

 **Anyway, I hope you can at least enjoy this a bit :3**

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* * *

"Elsa...if I got a wish to ask of you...would you care to fulfil it?"

The tentative voice came from behind her and she stopped in her motions of signing paper after paper.

The queen turned around in her armchair, putting down the quill in her hand. She looked at her sister, who stood a few steps away from her by the huge window in the dark.

.

It was very late evening, not to say rather night, and Elsa was still sitting in her study, which was lit by candles, having to sign papers that needed to be send out urgently during the next days.

At some time, Anna had come in here, asking her to join her in her room, but stayed with her upon hearing of the necessity of progressing with the task now.

At first, the princess had sat in another armchair, looking around the room, trying not to disturb her sister with a real conversation. She had been restless though, wrestling her hands, since she hadn't been able to see very much where she had sat. And she had been too lazy and not in the mood to take a candle over to that seat to read a book. So she had gotten up after a while of staring outside the window, walking to it and quietly watching all the stars littering the dark sky.

The older woman had risen her head briefly as her sister went past her, but didn't question it, although this behaviour seemed to be a little odd for the usually up-beat redhead.

.

Anna had been in thought, all the time actually, but a bit more sure about something now after seeing the bright stellar objects for a little longer, including an almost full, waning moon.

So she had turned around to ask her question, feeling the courage to go through with this now, once started.

Her voice was a tiny bit shaking and therefore lower, her gaze directed to the floor, all so unlike her usual self. So similar to her reaction to Elsa's approach at her coronation back then.

.

" _Of course_ I would. Anna, you know I'm owing you every single thing you could ever want from _then_ on. I still need to make up for all those years, and I _want to_. I am here for you now. Why are you asking like this? Where does this come from?" She furrowed an eyebrow and rose from her seat, what caused the shorter one to make herself a bit smaller.

"You... You really shouldn't think like that. I don't want it that way." She shook her head slightly.

"What is it?"

"You know, it's not that easy, so I don't want you saying anything like that before you could even have a clue about what you'd put yourself in."

"I don't think you would ask for anything bad. So that's part of my conviction. Unless it is something clearly not thought-through, like the thing with Hans was, but I'm hoping you learned your lesson there."

The shorter girl turned bitter for a moment at that mention, still refusing to show her face openly.

.

Elsa started to move, slowly going over to her, and the other one tensed.

"But it seems to me that you spent a bit more time on whatever this is. You need to tell me though, so I can 'care to fulfil'." She tried to encourage her sister with a small smile.

The breathing of the other one became a little bit faster, but she still didn't come to the point. It definitely seemed to be something of personal importance to her.

"And who wouldn't be glad to give such a lovely princess something she desires?" A smirk.

That got a reaction out of the younger one, who laughed shortly and then said, "Stop teasing me!", after what she turned serious again.

.

"Please don't say these things so easily... What I'd like to ask is a bit...weird..."

"Come on, out with it!" The blonde didn't like how the other one was beating around the bush.

Anna took a deep breath, once more steadying her nerves, before finally lifting her head and asking: "You... You know about the monthly ball of the kingdom of Lunarez, don't you? The one they give in honour to the moon, their symbol. I mean, yeah, you probably know these things better compared to me in general, but...well, I know that usually it's only their own noblemen visiting the city, but since it will be special this month they also sent invitations out to other kingdoms... And I... And I would like to...to ask you if you would accompany me to the ball. As my... Like a...a courtship."

.

It was out now.

Elsa stared at her, mouth slightly open, obviously caught off-guard. What was that? "Wait, Anna, what are you saying? A courtship? But-"

"I know, I _know_. But please listen, I've had these thoughts for some time now. About you and me." She was waving about, trying to get her thoughts across. "I've been watching you closely every single day once I noticed I had these weird feelings."

.

"'Weird feelings'? 'Thoughts about'... 'Courtship'? What..." The queen put one hand on her forehead, trying to process the past words, while turning away from her sister and walking a few steps. As if the work hadn't been enough for her brain already.

"Wait! I-I know that's all weird what I just said, that's what I thought, too, at first, but I want to find out if it really means so much, that's why I asked this! There probably won't be too many other royals, while I still think it will be nice." The shorter girl hurried after the other one, carefully reaching for her upper arm. When she touched the icy material of the thin sleeve, Elsa whirled around, taking one more step backwards.

The confusion was clearly written over her face, visible in her eyes, the strain of her lips, every feature. Though it had more a touch of hurt than anger.

.

"Why do you want it to be like a courtship? I mean... I mean we're two women, two sisters, a princess and a queen at that! We are supposed to find a suitable man, a prince for the kingdom even in my case at least! Anyway - What...what about Kristoff and you? I thought the two of you were...seeing each other..."

"Shhh. No, we're not, well, we said that we'd want to see where things might go, but that was only to get some distance on my behalf... I stopped it when I noticed that I also have feelings for you... Only stronger. And I want to know what that means now. Whether it really is what I think it is..." Anna took Elsa's hand between her two. "I would love it if you were willing to give me this chance. Or is this yet-unknown prince what _you_ really desire?"

.

The queen looked down at her enclosed hand, ravelling in the soft warmth it was receiving. She wanted to say something, but no words came out. So she swallowed first, then saying: "You know that is not about what _I'd_ want. It's what the kingdom needs. And I don't want to cause any more trouble!" She looked to the side, sighing deeply, wearily, trying to keep her frustration in.

"Is it what _you_ need?" Anna was verbally poking her on purpose now. Just before she could answer, the princess continued: "Elsa, what I'd say that you need is love. May that be of a prince or a commoner or a woman or whoever. You have suffered so much already in all those past years, I think you _deserve_ to look for something _you_ might actually need now. So, please, let me try this. At least to open your mind." Her serious gaze was directed straight into her sister's eyes, pulling her closer at her hand.

.

"I... I don't understand where this is suddenly coming from, Anna... What you say is crazy!" She was blushing lightly, somewhat tempted by these words. "You can't just go there courting your own queenly sister."

"The only arguments I hear you saying are those of society. You didn't mention once that _you_ wouldn't want it..." She cocked her head, closing her eyes only slightly, and pulled her eyebrows up, smiling a bit in the wrong way. The candlelight coming from the side didn't really help the situation for the blonde.

Of course Anna had heard the surrender at the end of her last sentence. Was there already more of a possibility than she could have imagined...?

"And I thought that you'd know by now that 'crazy' is totally my thing..." She bowed her head, eyes completely closed now, grinning cheekily, while touching her chest with her own hands which still clasped Elsa's one. She could just as well test if some girly-ness was working here.

.

The taller woman was pushing her hand carefully free after a moment of inner struggle to put it flat against the fabric of the blouse. "I wasn't aware it went that far...", she mumbled.

"So?"

"Well..."

"I told you not to say 'yes' ahead of knowing what I was talking about..."

"And here I was talking about you thinking things through..." Elsa smiled weakly.

"I _did_ think about this. I already said so." With a serious face, trying to reach the woman in front of her by using a different strategy, the younger girl laid her left hand on her older sibling's right one for a moment. Then she closed her fingers around it and took it away.

Holding Elsa's hand in the air between them, she curtsied slightly, and when looking back into her eyes, she said in a strong and formal voice: "My sister, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, would you do me the honour to accompany me to the upcoming ball of Lunarez and allow me to court you?"

.

The blush and gulp to that swamped expression alone were worth the move, Anna thought.

It seemed it was also worth it having been working on her regal appearance. The blonde definitely forgot the concept of speaking for a few seconds.

But since this was Elsa and not herself, she was quickly recomposing.

"Wow, that was a nice show. Your practice pays off. Well, should I let myself get influenced by it?" She smirked at the redhead while examining her through slitted eyes.

"Oh, come on, I won't be too importunate! We could look at it with a bit of fun, like some sort of experiment, if that's helping." The younger girl was offering, beaming at her expectantly.

"'A bit of fun', hm? So you don't even have serious purposes, my dear? Is that a befitting suitor for a queen?"

"Believe me, I have, I just want to make sure you're fine with this if- WAIT, why exactly are you not weirder about this all...?" Yes, this question took some time to come, but at least she noticed it.

.

Elsa's mouth twitched. "Does that really matter now? I'm currently not on the lookout for a _man_ , so if you really want this, okay. I'm okay with this, but...but don't make anything too obvious when other people are around. We'll attend the ball if you so much want to." She smiled, kind of defeated, at Anna, who let go of her hand to pump her fists to an excited " _YES!_ ", which made her grin lovingly.

" _Oh_ , ahem, I mean, thank you." The princess calmed down on the outside, only hugging her sister, who took a moment to return it.

.

"Do you think this is right?" the queen asked in a low voice, her nose in the strawberry blond hair.

Anna pressed closer into her, feeling the naked skin in the back cleavage at the fingertips of her right hand. "I don't know yet, but I will see."

It was weird for Elsa that it seemed to be so easy to her sibling what she had in mind. She herself was intrigued by the idea, but she couldn't let that on like that. "I would prefer to go to sleep now, it has been a long day...", she said while she tried to peel herself away from Anna.

"Oh, yeah, right, I do totally understand!" The younger one jumped away, being a bit embarrassed.

"You should do the same. Otherwise you'll be far too late for breakfast tomorrow again."

.

She went to her desk, giving the other one a sly smile, before extinguishing the light except for one candle in a holder, which she took. She motioned for Anna to leave the room, but said person had been busy watching her graceful movements, so she didn't notice.

Elsa cleared her throat, what brought her back. "I would prefer it if you wouldn't do that."

"Do what?"

"Looking like you just stopped thinking."

"I never stop thinking around you! Or ever." The princess pouted.

"Anyway, to bed now."

They both went through the halls with whirling thoughts, wishing each other goodnight when they had to separate for their respective rooms. Not daring to do anything more, not knowing how to now.


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: That moment when you get Kristelsa ideas as an Elsanna shipper...**

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* * *

The moment Anna had closed the door behind her back, she couldn't help hissing "Yes! Yes!" over and over, dancing through the room, until she landed with her back on her bed, laughing freely.

"Hahaha, oh well, I can't believe she _really_ said yes to it! It was not even that difficult." She chuckled.

"I wonder why she did it." Not that she wasn't happy about it, exactly the opposite as she had just shown, but it seemed to be a crazy idea even to herself before. She had expected Elsa to disregard it, to laugh at her or to talk her out of it, anything like that, but not a subliminal willingness from the beginning on. Did that mean something special?

.

She didn't know, but she didn't want to mess it up now that she had gotten a chance.

That probably meant behaving around Elsa now. At least with other people around...

The redhead sighed.

What did she want to do now actually? Since she hadn't even thought she'd get this far, she wasn't really sure about her next steps. Or any real step for that matter.

Well, she had _imagined_ some things, but that was different. She had to think about what she would do, because simply pretending everything was still the same between them until the ball would come and only starting to act on the courtship "agreement" then all of a sudden was wrong in her eyes.

So she needed to work on it all the time before that already. Wasn't that also required to be able to succeed in the first place? How could the ball be a special peak if there wouldn't have been a start-up previously?

.

This was important to her, because she had meant it truly, plus her sister deserved this to be done well. Actually to be done excellently. Could she even come close to that goal? She who had always been so clumsy and awkward?

Did men feel the same when they were doing this? It never seemed like that in the stories she'd read, nor when she had watched people at the two balls she'd been at.

Did that come naturally to them, or had they been taught any tricks? Were they being trained in it during their upbringing, just like she was taught her manners?

She laid her hands on her face and groaned.

.

So...how did one court a queen properly...? Especially as a princess...a _woman_.

She only knew one thing – Hans was no helping example.

She didn't want to think about that douche bag at all.

Maybe she really should sleep at first. And maybe she would make it out of bed once to meet her sister at breakfast. That could make a good impression. And didn't she need to impress her now?

It would be a start. Better than nothing. She needed to be good, but seeing her history of her trying to talk to Elsa, well that...had always held its difficulties at first.

Ergo, little steps. Anything better than nothing. Yes!

.

With a quick push of her arms, she got up, went to her wardrobe and took a nightgown out of it.

While changing into it, she realized the season they were in once again, because a shiver was going through her whole body. "Ungh." She hurried as best as she could.

It was autumn, the current month just having changed into October.

She should have asked for her room's fireplace to be lit at this time of the year already, but spending all of her days outside of it made her forget it every day again that the nights were cold. And when someone of the staff suggested it, she thought it wouldn't be necessary as well because of the two above reasons.

Even though the clear night sky which she had watched earlier was the promise of a cold night.

She had to remind herself to wear a proper gown to the ball.

.

The ball.

She did only now stop at the thought for a moment.

It would be only the second one for them after Elsa's coronation.

The new queen had insisted on getting things on track first, starting to rule Arendelle properly and getting in a sort of routine.

The princess thought her hard-working, seeing as she spent a lot of her time over papers for new policies, trade agreements and statistics of Arendelle, discussing matters and the general situation of the kingdom with her council, and even talking to her people in the city when she went outside for either a simple walk through the market or to have some fun with Anna while discovering more of the city and the landscape around it.

In Anna's opinion, her sister deserved to enjoy herself a lot more, at least now that she had accomplished her goals of a working routine and had established some reputation that was different from "The Ice Queen". Although some people were still fearing what they had seen after the coronation and were careful around her.

.

The girl huffed. She wanted people to see how great Elsa really was.

Yes, of course she had her ice powers, but they were so fascinating!

She had seen the chaotic part of them at the end of the party, had been the cause of that, even become frozen by them, but she wasn't scared of her sibling for even a second.

She was rather stunned by her ability, according to the other woman a fact that had already existed when they had been children.

She had seen the majestic ice palace and some other things Elsa had shown to amuse the citizens and hopefully calm them down at the same time. Its beauty was predominating to her.

The beauty that had also stricken Kristoff. The ice harvester who was supposed to have seen all forms of the element.

Kristoff...

.

Anna groaned angrily while starting to move to her bed.

During those thoughts she had only stared mindlessly out of the windows after adjusting a bit to the cold.

She threw herself on the blanket, burrowing her face in the mattress, until she turned to the side.

In some moments, she had had the feeling that the guy was more interested in Elsa than in herself, due to his love and life for ice.

A tinge of jealousy and envy crept into her, making her form a fist and sit up again, although she knew she had no right for the former.

The latter though... Well, compared to the queen, the airy redhead seemed...rather _unformed_ , at least regarding matters of royalty. Not that she wasn't trained in them, of course there had not been a way around that for a princess. She knew formalities and proper behaviour theoretically, it was just that she preferred to be casual herself, it was her nature. And she didn't want to give this up.

.

That was why she had liked at least the facade Hans had put on.

A princely gentleman – every girl's dream man, right? - who had been discovered to have a liking for craziness, just like herself. Well, only that his one went far beyond eligible in the end.

During that adventure she had met Kristoff, the slightly brusque yet likeable "mountain guy".

He was nothing of the stuck-upness she was supposed to deal with usually. Nothing princely, only something that seemed more normal to her, with him being always so informal.

But...she didn't want to think about him now. Yes, she still liked him, but not that way anymore.

So she shook her head slowly, took a deep breath and relaxed her hand that had been curled into a fist.

.

Maybe she should finally get to that sleep. Sleep always helped. After all she had just made the decision of getting over those men and focusing on someone new.

Even though that someone was totally different again. This was another level. Another level of craziness as well...

Would she make it? Would she get farther this time? Was there even a realistic chance...?

.

Oh to hell with these doubts!

Her sister herself had given her this chance, and she would simply see what it would lead to. She was thankful. She got this chance. And she would make something out of it.

The princess got under the blankets, lowered herself with a final sigh and snuggled into her pillows, a small smile creeping onto her lips. Her mind would certainly come up with an idea overnight. Or at least she hoped so.

Feeling the softness around her, she wondered when she wouldn't sleep alone anymore. When there would be someone she could cuddle up to. Someone whose warmth reminded her that her heart was alive.

.

In a room at a different hall, the queen hadn't had any power left for staying up and giving in to any thoughts. She had directly fallen asleep.


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Another chapter of Anna alone. Aaw xD I know it might not be the most interesting currently, but I feel that I need to do it like this to compensate for what I called the "maybe a bit too illogical first chapter". Bear with me, please :P Next one is Elsa.**

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* * *

When Gerda knocked on the princess' door the next day and called for her to wake up, the young woman was already up, dressed in one of her many green dresses, and concentrating on her stubborn hair currently.

Upon hearing the hair-induced angry answer, the head maid couldn't help asking in surprise, "Is there anything special today, Your Royal Highness?"

"Oh no, nothing!" she said in a risen voice. "Well, just that I want to see Elsa in the morning and how she might be today...", she mumbled while looking at her hair in the mirror and brushing it a bit too hard probably.

So much for getting up earlier. Now this totally caught her up! This morning routine always took her so long.

Elsa might have more hair than most people, but she certainly didn't have a mane like herself in the morning.

.

"If You say so."

Anna could hear the older woman leave her door.

With a sigh, she went through the last strand. Gosh, it was done. Usually she wasn't _this_ impatient with her red locks, but she wanted to be on time today in the beginning of the day!

She hurried through her make-up routine after having braided her hair. One last look in the mirror made her keep her gaze though.

Would she need to change something now...?

Wait, what thoughts did she actually have? Same thing with the behaviour about which she had thought the day before. She shook her head and knitted her eyebrows. This was definitely getting at her. She hadn't even considered this when she had been with the two men.

What is up with you all of a sudden?, she asked herself. It was unlike herself. Once more.

Questioning things, not her thing.

.

But she still wanted to impress Elsa.

She still didn't take it for granted that things between them were now more like they were supposed to be.

She was still fighting for her sister's attention in some way, after all it had been a part of her for so many years, every day.

But now wasn't the time to delve into that.

She was ready for breakfast. That mattered.

Things would go into a different direction, at least for the next few days... Unless her older sibling had changed her mind and decided to follow the more logical way and not do this.

Oh no, she wouldn't do this, would she?!

With a quick jump towards her door, Anna hurriedly started her way down the curved stairwell to the dining room.

She urgently hoped that Elsa was still there.

.

A few steps in front of the door, she stopped herself to calm down. She couldn't run in there hastily, that wouldn't look good. Actually she had gotten reprimanded quite often for such behaviour, only that she never cared about it. Until now.

Gosh, would these thoughts stop at some time, please?

Her usual smile on her face, she straightened her back and walked through the doors.

On the way, she had seen that it was quite early in the morning (at least for herself), half past eight.

She wondered when exactly the queen got up and ready for the day – They had never talked about exact numbers concerning this matter. Since she had put so much effort into getting her work done well, the younger one assumed it would be very early.

Too early for herself, normally. Apparently, all it took was a reason. Now she had one as well.

Not that she wasn't tired – she definitely wasn't really awake yet – but she could get used to it under that circumstance, right?

.

All her enthusiasm left her at once though, when she saw that the room was empty except for one butler, who clearly didn't expect her and was surprised just like Gerda.

"Oh, Your Royal Highness? If You'll wait a moment, please, I'll get everything ready for You. The usual?"

He didn't notice her open mouth and that she didn't answer him, he was already going to the kitchen.

"In fact I would have liked something different... My sister's company", she said absently to herself.

After a disappointed sigh, she went slowly to her usual chair, next to the head seat of the queen, and rather slumped down on it. She looked to the spot at her right, sighing.

.

Too late.

So much for getting up earlier so that now she was only still tired. She leaned her head against the back of the chair.

When the kitchen staff appeared with her breakfast though – a few sandwiches -, the redhead straightened up as best as she could in this moment.

Not even her beloved hot chocolate could raise her mood.

Just when the maids were about to disappear, she tried to ask them in an emotionless tone, but became a bit subdued, "When was Elsa here?"

One of them, she was probably in her thirties, turned around and said politely, "Her Majesty had her breakfast at least an hour ago, Your Royal Highness. Although she didn't eat very much", she dared mentioning, since she knew the princess didn't like this kind of formalities about not speaking about certain things. At least when it concerned her sister and her well-being.

"Oh, okay, thank you..."

The maid curtsied and left.

.

An _hour_ ago? That sounded far too early. And the woman wasn't even sure if it hasn't been any earlier.

And what with the little eating? That didn't sound normal.

Though... Did she know what exactly "normal" was in Elsa's daily schedule...?

They absolutely did not talk about how much they ate at breakfast. That would have been nothing but weird! But the maid thought it worth mentioning.

Elsa, what's up with you? I hope I'm not making you feel bad, ran through the young princess' mind.

She definitely had to go looking for her and ask about this after her breakfast - which she wanted to do better than her sibling -, totally subtly of course.

Right? Because, hey, it was totally unjustified to act weird the next morning after your sister, the princess, asked you out, wasn't it?!

Oh Anna, really, see how the execution of your crazy idea starts off. What did you expect again?

.

Well, maybe there was a completely different reason for the queen's behaviour. She would see it in some time.

So the redhead quietly ate her first meal of the day, not leaving a crump, being a good example to all Arendellian children. Albeit it didn't taste as good today as on other days.

When she had it finished, she stayed at the table, turned her head to the left and looked down the long side of it, staring out of the window by the side. Her mind was drifting off, she wanted to go to Elsa, ask her if anything was bothering her, do something about it, _care_ for her - and wasn't that what she had to do now anyway?

Not that she actually didn't want to, but that was what suitors did, right?

So wasn't her naturally wanting to do so a sign that she meant her words seriously?

She just had to convince her... Convince her...

.

But convince her how? And of what exactly?

The younger one wasn't even sure about her own feelings as she had stated, but it sure felt like more than it should be, this little, special feeling that always came when she saw her elegant, beautiful sister.

 _Everything_ about her simply was so special...

That hair whose colour no one of their closer family members had had, the amount of it in that perfect braid, lying on that bare porcelain skin of her shoulder, and with those wild bangs. Pushed back to show her pretty face, with the cute button nose and those delicate freckles. That slender frame in her self-created dress. That dress that definitely showed so much for a royal. Fit so that those hips stood out. Presenting a part of her leg. Legs that ended with feet in crystal shoes with a bit of a heel.

"Inappropriate" they would call it in normal cases. But this woman was special in her entirety.

.

Anna got up from her chair suddenly, still keeping her gaze where it had been. Her breath had quickened slightly and there was a tinge of natural red on her cheeks after going over her mental image of Elsa.

Was it proper behaviour?

Well, probably not, but no one would know about these thoughts.

She still didn't have an idea about what to do, but she couldn't stay away.

Putting on her smile while walking out of the dining room, she passed the servants and asked them about Elsa's current whereabouts.

After the princess was out of earshot, some of them started talking, wondering what had gotten the redhead up so unusually early.


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Just a short reply to the guest reviewer: Thank you, and you're welcome! =3 x3  
**

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* * *

The queen sat at her desk in the study, massaging her temples and groaning, with her eyes closed.

It was eight in the morning. Normally she would be eating her breakfast at this time, if anything. But no, not today.

She had gotten up so early that even she noticed some kind of tiredness, something that was new to her. Never had she been one to feel tired in the break of dawn. Only that today she had awoken before that.

She wanted to sweep her hand over her face, but the freshly applied make-up forbid that.

.

This condition was absolutely counterproductive. She had so much time after getting up that early, time that she could have spent wonderfully to continue with the current papers and letters. But she was so groggy that she couldn't really concentrate. It probably also didn't help that she had hardly anything in her stomach, since she was also lacking some appetite.

The serving maid had looked at her with slight worry, but Elsa hadn't let her mention it, saying there was so much work to attend to at this day that there wasn't any time.

.

She sighed and lifted her head out of her hands.

She was looking down at the paper she was working on. Numbers of all kinds of crops that were harvested in September. Some of them were lower than last year, it was suspected by her agrarian and economics minister that it was due to the "eternal winter" she had caused in July, even if it was only for a few days. On the other hand, a few types, such as apples, appeared to be rated better, apparently they took some frost well and to their favour.

At least some uncontrolled winter landscape created by her wouldn't happen again, because she had her ice powers in check enough at least that far. She had almost reached perfection in the control of them, despite the few weeks that had passed. Of course it had been her top goal. And thanks to Anna, she could accomplish it.

.

Anna.

What had gotten into her? How did she come to that idea?

Well, she had given her some answer to that, but it was still not the most logical thing. But then again, logic had never been the redhead's strong point. Yeah, how could she have expected it?

But the question was probably rather, why did _she_ agree to it?

She was the responsible one, not simply because she was older but because she was reasonable. And that action didn't seem to be her best proof of that.

But it had felt as if she would push her sister away from her again if she had been too deprecative and hadn't even considered it. Well, she _had_ considered it, obviously, but she had also said yes afterwards. That was the complicating thing.

.

The queen stood up, being lost to her work, and went to the windows by the side. She carefully leaned sidewards against the sill with her hips and crossed her arms. Her gaze was directed to some tall trees that were standing in a short distance.

Her _sister_ was going to _court_ her. Her own little sister, her kingdom's princess.

She closed her eyes, and her brows went upwards just as the corners of her mouth went downwards in worry.

She didn't exactly regret her decision, it was just...that she was very unsure about this.

A courting itself didn't mean that there _had_ to happen anything serious in the end, but it still meant there _would_ happen something. And she was absolutely not sure about what that would be.

.

Of course she had learned what it meant being courted and these kinds of things.

But it was always including a male being, not two women.

She hadn't wanted a courtship so early, that wasn't on her recent to-do-list, it had always been something far away for her, seeing her icy powers that had never wanted to obey her. And re-connecting with Anna came first on her priority list regarding relationships with people.

So here she was...

It was probably just a very weird situation to begin with.

.

Elsa clenched her jaw while slowly opening her eyes and looking out of the window again.

So much to re-connecting with your _sister_ : A courtship it was? Nice going, Elsa, nice going.

She still couldn't exactly understand why the younger one wanted it. She wasn't a strong man, nor a handsome prince, nor a knight in shining armour – that was rather Anna herself, spoken metaphorically – just no man at all. So what did Anna see in her? She had nothing to offer the other girl.

Plus, she had thought that everything was going well between Kristoff and the redhead. When she had watched the two, it hadn't looked any different to her. They still stopped when they met in the hallway and talked, Anna was still smiling at him if they ate dinner together, and they still met outside the castle grounds doing- yeah, doing whatever. She actually didn't want to think about that any further. They could be doing whatever they wanted.

.

The blonde pushed herself gently away from the sill with her hips, walking back to her seat, and sat down again, letting out a sigh. Her body ached.

She put the current sheet of paper about the crops aside on the pile of things she had read after signing it.

The following ones took their time, she was reading them, but not registering them in her mind. Her thoughts were drifting off, due to the lack of sleep and Anna's request still lingering actively in her head.

She didn't understand this, she had been able to fall asleep so easily yesterday...

An answer to a letter came next, so she needed to put a bit more concentration into it.

Leaning back in her armchair, she was trying to phrase sentences, staring off into space. She didn't actually notice that her eyelids dropped at some moment, making her body follow with relaxing a tiny bit, too.

.

She had indeed had no troubles with finding sleep at first last night. She hadn't thought about the conversation with the princess, because at that moment she hadn't thought too much of it and she had wanted nothing else than to rest.

But it seemed that her mind had already noticed that it was nothing to simply ignore. Soon after lying down, her brain had started processing the new information subconsciously, making her dream dream after dream, keeping her body from recovering enough.

She hadn't remembered everything, but the last dream, or rather some kind of nightmare to her, had been stuck. That was not surprising though, seeing that it had made her wake up at the end of it with a racing heart and sweat all over her body, although she had been lying on a thick layer of ice. No wonder that all of her bones were hurting today.

.

In that dream, Anna had been all kind to her, making her laugh, touching her gently and carefully all evening. Just like she was in reality, it could have been seen still sisterly. She had felt so good with her, enjoying the company all the way.

Every time a man had come to try to speak to the queen though, the younger woman had intervened, snapping aggressively at them, shouting what had come to their mind that they dared to step up to the woman who belonged to her.

In consequence, the redhead had suddenly claimed her after several of such scenes. She had gone to the blonde, grabbing her shoulders violently with an irritated expression on her face. "You said you'd be there for _me_ now!"

Elsa had asked her to stop, tried to calm the other one down, but when the princess hadn't reacted and even started tearing at her dress brutally, wanting to rip it open, in the process of which she had hurt the older one – both mentally and physically even -, the latter needed to defend herself. She had tried to push her away, shouting at her to drop it, but when she had grasped Anna's upper arms, she had moved forward and suddenly a burst of energy had gone through her, making her gasp in shock immediately as she had been able to see what it had meant.

Her little sister had been starting to freeze from where her hands had touched her. _Not again!_ , had been all that the queen had been able to think hollowly, screaming in desperation.

The look on Anna's face had changed to being scared, showing disbelieve and sadness. Just before she had been frozen completely, Elsa had awoken with a start, panting, shaking while feeling her sweaty nightgown clung to her skin, being totally disorientated for that moment.

.

It had taken her by far enough minutes to realize what that had been, calming herself after a stifled cry and finally getting to make her ice disappear, what hadn't worked at the first try.

The queen had had the urge to check if her sister really was unharmed, to be completely convinced, but then she had pondered it to be wiser to not see her right now. The dream had just been too intense and...weird. Where had that come from?

Her memory had suddenly kicked in with the conversation she had had right before going to bed. She had sat on the side of her bed, stiffened a bit, felt this uncertain feeling about what was really about to come and gulped. She was sure that Anna would never do such a thing, but right then the blonde had been emotionally overwhelmed.

What did that mean now? What had she put them in with saying yes so easily? They couldn't be doing this. She had to correct her answer and refuse.

But that had also not been top on the list for then.

.

The queen had gotten up, moaning due to her aching body and feeling not exactly well-rested at all. But she had had to get up, no way would she be finding any further sleep now.

So she had prepared herself for the day, unable to stop her mind from worrying.

Yawn after yawn had escaped her. That had had to stop until she would have been leaving the room. Not befitting a queen.

Way too early had she had her day started. Going to the dining room, she had noticed that her stomach hadn't been ready yet either. So she had settled on drinking only a cup of tea and eating a slice of bread with a bit of trouble.

Afterwards, she had gone straight to her study, wanting to distract herself from the dreams.

.

And now here she sat, almost falling back asleep at her desk. But when her body twitched, Elsa made herself awake as good as possible again, startling herself back to work.

She took the quill, immediately starting to write some hurried lines for her answer to an earl of her kingdom.

Somewhere in between though, her thoughts were going back to her personal matter. She paused, screwing her face up in thought about one oddity. Her eyes went questioningly to the pile of letters that held invitations.

How... How did Anna even know about this ball? This certain ball? Usually, the princess had no exact idea of the content of letters she got or papers she received from her council.

How could she ask about this specific ball...?

.

Her trail of thought was suddenly interrupted by two short knocks on the door and the wooden piece opening right after them without her spoken permission.  
When Elsa snapped her head in the direction, ready to give a general reprimand, she was looking at the person she hadn't wanted to see yet and whom she certainly didn't expect at this time of the day in addition.

There, with one hand around the door handle and the other one lying flat against the wood, stood the princess. Smile playing around her lips, but some insecurity in her eyes.

Before the older woman could overcome her confused facial expression, Anna was already saying in a low yet affectionate voice, "Hey... Good morning."


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: I don't know if I have to mention this explicitly, but you are allowed to say something, as in reviews or so, only in case you haven't known xD**

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* * *

"Good morning..." The redhead smiled shyly and entered the room, closing the door quietly behind her.

She leaned against it briefly with her arms still behind her back, looking down to the floor. Being here now made her realize that she didn't know what to say. In this "new" situation.

And back in this room where she had started it.

.

"Good morning", Elsa said with furrowed eyebrows, wondering. "What... What are you doing here? Up so early?"

"Well, I was trying to make it to breakfast to eat with you." Anna was angling her head so that she looked her sister straight in the eyes. "But I didn't know you'd be up _that_ early." The corner of her mouth twitched.

"It's not my normal time, I can assure you. But this isn't your time either." The queen sighed and wiped with the heel of her right hand across her temple. "It happens once that you're getting up far earlier than your usual time just to finally eat breakfast with me and I'm not there. I'm sorry." She gave her an apologetic smile. "I would have loved that."

The younger one didn't have to know that today she had had no appetite, but the statement itself was meant truly.

"Maybe wake me up then next time?" The princess smiled and started walking through the room. She was aiming straight for the window. Apparently this was the only appealing thing to her in the study. Next to Elsa of course, but she was here to actually work.

When she reached the window sill, Anna leaned on it with both her arms.

Elsa turned around completely in her armchair, due to her stiff neck. "Maybe...", she mumbled, not decided yet if she should really do that.

.

"It's been so long since I was up at such a time. I forgot how beautiful a day can look at it."

The sun was still rising and tainting the land in an orange hue. The redhead was staring contently outside, obviously losing herself in the sight.

"Too bad. It suits you."

"Hm?" Anna was turning her head a bit, but keeping her eyes locked on the trees nearby and the mountains and the sea in the background. "What do you mean?" she asked distantly.

"The sun. It's shining on your face. And it suits you. The way it is, red, golden. It suits your hair, your freckles."

At this, the younger woman whirled around completely, looking surprised at her older sister. "I, um... Thank you..." She was seeing in her eyes, noticing the lop-sided smile, but didn't question it any further. After all, she was the one here who wanted to court the other, not the other way around, right? So the blonde's compliments didn't mean anything special or different from prior to this.

Speaking of, she realized again that _she_ on the other hand didn't know how to move forward.

.

So she just took a step and then a few more towards Elsa, standing beside her at the end of the process.

The queen had already returned to the paper in front of her, holding the quill readily and thought about how to continue the letter.

She hadn't expected to see Anna so early, especially after her dream she had expected it to be strange, but now it felt rather comforting having her by her side. Seeing that she wasn't like the person in her dream. Or at least of its end.

She put the head of the quill on the paper and wrote.

.

After some minutes, she stopped again, turning her head to the left where Anna stood silently – a rare occurrence - with her hands intertwined behind her back. "What is it?" came from the redhead.

"I'm wondering...how it comes that you know so well about the ball of Lunarez. Normally you don't know what's going on...politically and socially. So... Why this ball?"

The queen had carefully avoided the matter of their relationship, but in some way this also included it.

"I...I was helping you with these papers last week as you might be aware. And while you were already busy with some, I might have read one or two things. You always say I should take a look at this stuff, too, so don't blame me!"

The younger woman was getting defensive there, although she was right. She had been sorting the paperwork which lay ahead for Elsa, seeing that it was awfully much.

"That's right... But that only explains how you know about it."

"Oh why does it matter?"

"Maybe because I would like to understand how my _suitor_ chooses." The blonde was looking up at Anna, face neutral.

.

There was a short, tensed silence between them, with the younger woman opening and closing her mouth, trying to find words.

"I... Wow, that came suddenly. The switch between s words, I mean. From 'sister' to...to 'suitor'." She was looking awkwardly to the side, going through her hair with her right hand.

"It's the truth though at the moment." There was a glint in Elsa's eyes, and she was waiting for a reaction, but when none seemed to come, she wanted to go back to the still unfinished letter.

Then Anna said, "I was just reading through the pile of invitations and that one seemed nicest. No special reason, I guess. Lunarez is not too far away and it shouldn't be an overly political aka exhausting event-"

"You know _all_ events are of political matter."

"Elsa, that's also one of the reasons why I was looking for something like this – next to asking you out – you know, you are allowed to have fun at times, enjoy yourself – and that ball sounds interesting. You are working so much, especially these days." She was looking sternly at her sister and put her hands on her hips after gesticulating wildly during her words.

.

The addressed turned her head back to the side, holding up the gaze. "Well, I don't need such a ball for that. I'm already completely happy when I'm with you." She sighed. "But we already cleared that yesterday. If you want to... There's just so much work at the moment because of the new month, but that will..." She was groaning a bit while she was getting up, feeling both her muscles and joints aching.

"Hey, what's wrong?!" Anna immediately grasped her upper arm.

"Nothing..."

The redhead put her left hand on her shoulder, trying to push her back down, but Elsa grabbed her wrist and took it away. "I just...lay a bit...bad..."

"So that's why you're hardly moving! You're all stiff." She was laying her second hand on the other arm. "I can help you with that. Let's sit on the divan over there." She pulled Elsa lightly in the direction in which she wanted to go, leading her to sit on said piece of furniture with her back to herself.

.

"It will hurt a bit in the beginning, but it'll become better. And it would be better without your dress on, but...well." Anna's voice had gone lower at the end, just realising the ambiguity of her words herself.

She cleared her throat, grateful that her sister couldn't see her face right now, full of embarrassment, and moved her hands carefully to Elsa's shoulder muscles.

But as soon as she touched the bare skin with her palms, the taller woman in front of her flinched away all of a sudden.

"I-I'm sorry." The blonde was getting back into her previous position, but tensed up. "Just give me a short moment, I wasn't really prepared for it."

"'Prepared for it'? Elsa, I barely touched you. And this isn't such a big deal." She was about to re-place her right hand, but the other woman avoided it.

" _Please._ "

.

The younger one drew back, completely surprised by this strange behaviour.

"What is this about? I didn't do anything to you, did I?"

"No... Of course you haven't... Well, except for asking me to court me, but physically, no."

"'Physically'?

The queen was still sitting with her back to her, but she could see that she had crossed her arms, tensing her hands.

"What happened?" Anna asked simply.

"I just...had a bad dream."

"Seems like a _really_ bad dream to me." She lifted one eyebrow. "Tell me, what happened in it?"

Elsa considered it for a moment, but started speaking, "It was you and me... You were very nice to me, but then you became jealous of men for nothing and touched me...", she gulped, "...in a bad way. And I froze you...again." Her voice cracked at the end, and her fingers were digging into her arms.

.

"Look at me", the princess said softly.

When the blonde turned around, the younger woman could see the sad expression on her face.

"I hope you know that I would never do that. I might be a bit...feisty sometimes, but I would never want to make you feel uncomfortable. But apparently I did just that... I'm sorry. I've already heard that you were up very early and hardly ate anything. And this dream in addition..." She cast her eyes down guiltily. "It seems to bother you, and I don't want that. We can simply cancel it, we don't have to do this."

.

Elsa put her left hand on Anna's two which rested tense in her lap. "No. I want to do this. I can't judge this yet, and I'm aware that it was only a dream. I guess I was just overwhelmed and needed to...realize this, maybe. But what's bothering me is that...that I...well, froze you...again..." She closed her eyes, angry about herself.

"Hey... Don't do that. How often do I have to tell you that?" She took Elsa's hand in her own, stroking her thumb across it. "I might not be the gentlest person. But I will always be as gentle as I can to you. Okay?" She was looking intently at her sister, hoping to get the meaning across.

When the addressed looked up again with a small smile, she returned it and hugged her as best as she could in this sitting position next to each other.

"And we do know...love will thaw...", she said in a low voice.

"That's still no excuse to do that again and again to you..." The queen sighed, feeling her muscles hurt from the embrace.

.

"So that's why you slept so bad. But why does your body hurt?" The redhead was releasing her when that came back to her mind.

"I awoke lying on ice..." Elsa was straightening her back and craning her neck.

" _Ouch_ , now that sounds hard!" The shorter woman frowned in sympathy. "Then let me massage you now."

The blonde was nodding, turning her back to her sister, kind of mentally preparing herself with a deep intake of air.

To give her just a bit more time, Anna lightly stroked her fingers up her slender arms. "I'll always listen if you tell me to stop...", she whispered.

"You know, it's actually a bit weird for me, I've got quite used to you touching me, but that now just seems...different. Even though you haven't done anything different... I guess it's only a matter of mind."

"May be."

.

The younger woman got at the bare skin in front of her which was already so accessible due to the other one's braid that always hung over her left shoulder.

She laid her hands on the top part of her trapezius next to her neck and pressed them into the muscle, making the blonde moan immediately in ache, " _Ngh._ "

"Told you so." She was tending to the spot until it became looser, while she also started using her thumbs to go about the part of the muscle at the bottom of the back of the neck. Elsa had really soft skin, she noticed once again consciously. And this huge cleavage of the dress which she had settled on creating for herself every day was so unfair. Next to the slit of course. She sighed.

.

The queen could feel her younger sibling's breath on her skin. It was kind of tickling her and she was focusing on not getting shivers from it. Also because it was so warm on her, just like her hands. This definitely felt great, even when every new muscle part hurt at first.

"Mmh..." She wondered why the princess was so good at this.

Anna was working her way down, down beside her spine and stroking to the sides. At the upper hem, she stopped, and took her hands away, only to guide them under Elsa's icy cape, where she continued right under it with applying a tad more pressure than before on the muscle with the balls and thumbs of her hands. This elicited a suppressed " _Argh_ " from the older woman who also bent her back a bit forwards.

At this, the redhead had to grin involuntarily. Even if it wasn't planned by her, her sister just seemed responsive... In some kind.

.

She was doing her best through the dress, so she didn't realize it instantly in her concentration when Elsa spoke to her, "Well, if I wanted to, I could have let my dress easily disappear, even only in the back. But that seemed weird thinking about it, and I'm not sure I would feel comfortable."

"I understand, especially after the dream you had. Plus, I couldn't let you get undressed in your study, now could I?" The thought brought another grin on her face though.

"That wouldn't be good if someone were to see that."

"Oh, only if someone saw that?" the redhead asked cheekily while she leaned slightly forward during the massage of Elsa's lower back.

Elsa turned her head around so that she could see her over her shoulder and shoot her a warning look.

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I was just teasing", the princess said hurriedly and returned to her previous position. Remember, _behave_ , she scolded herself.

.

She was doing the last parts, which the blonde copiously enjoyed, staring into the space in front of her, lips slightly open, and revelling in the good feeling her sister's hands were providing her with. She gritted her teeth.

The content of her dream hadn't come out of absolutely nowhere. It hadn't been the first time that the Queen of Arendelle had imagined and consequently dreamed of the touch of her sister.

So when the contact left, she closed her eyes and sighed disappointedly, after having experienced this in reality.

"There you go", Anna chirped already, to what she could only react with a mumbled "Too bad..." at that moment.

And for the first time in a long while did the older woman feel a chill going through her body upon the missing warmth.


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Yeah, well, what am I to say? This chapter happened on its own in the second half... |D**

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* * *

After their dubious massage encounter, Anna had awkwardly left the queen alone so she could get more of her work done. The latter was for it, too, she had put emphasis on it when she assured her sister that that was probably best at the moment. Not that she didn't like having her around, but the work of the princess had left her in a confusing yet wonderful state of...body.

So much for getting back to headstrong and focus. The blonde berated herself. Such a simple gesture of help could mess with her? That was not what a good queen was supposed to be like.

.

So she forced herself back to her desk, after a while during which she had only stared around, zoning out.

She should use her body's new-gained relaxation to overcome her tiredness.

Looking at the letter for the earl, she really hoped it wouldn't sound too incoherent. She wouldn't write that thing anew.

After some time, she finally finished it and got to other papers. Her body did indeed feel better, what made her sigh in relief. In a short break, she wondered what Anna was doing now, after the probably hurried sack.

.

Said person strolled aimlessly through the castle now that she had found Elsa and had been able to talk to her. She was relieved that she hadn't wanted to stop with their not-even-started-yet courtship agreement. Or had it just started...?

After all, that had been a bit more...intimate, right? The princess closed her eyes and blushed lightly as she played the scene again in her mind.

It hadn't even been on purpose. But it had been nice feeling her sister's back like that. Only her reaction had caused it to be a bit awkward for herself. At first, when the blonde had jerked away and told her about that dream, she had felt bad, and when the queen had dared moaning in front of her like that, well... yeeah...

She coughed as the red intensified at the same time.

She hadn't expected it to affect her so much.

.

But she still couldn't be exactly happy. Not only because she had caused Elsa a hard night but also because she wasn't sure how to act around her – still being the nice sister or taking the step to _very interested_ suitor already.

Oh, this was so difficult! If she wasn't her sister, it wouldn't be so complicated. It would be even less complicated if they weren't both women!

She glared to herself while walking the halls.

She wasn't angry at Elsa or anything, she just generally hated that their situation was so difficult. The redhead had always been showing her emotions, despite her status as a princess. But in these ranks all of this mattered so incredibly much, and that was once again what she didn't like so much about it. They cared about who they fell in love with, meaning the social status, or outright ignored exactly that if it was someone who they weren't supposed to be with, and married someone who was deemed fit for them - or rather their kingdom. With or without loving them.

.

Anna had always despised that idea. She wanted to have real love, no matter who the person was, and she would stand to them.

Maybe that was a good thing about the early passing of their parents... Bad as it might sound.

This way she hadn't had to undergo too many "lessons" or elaborated talks with her parents about proper courtship or marriage. Well, maybe that had lead to the disaster with Hans, but... Anyway, she had learned from it.

Elsa - on the other hand - who was three years older and had been the crown princess – in addition to being always more reasonable – had probably been instructed at the time already. And had meant to take it seriously, seeing what she had told her last evening at first.

.

But the new queen had been open to reason. Although she was responsible for the younger woman now.

Which was why she hadn't blessed a marriage between her and Prince Hans. She was grateful with hindsight that Elsa had stayed firm about her opinion then. She shuddered.

But the taller woman wouldn't say no to herself...would she?, the redhead thought cheekily.

Oh gosh, her relationships definitely were messed up.

She needed her brain to pause.

.

Her feet had led her past more servants who had greeted her, all positively surprised. But the young woman didn't notice that really.

She was glad that she had seen Elsa already and had been able to clear her worries. Plus, it was good this way, because she wouldn't have known what else to say or do yet. She hadn't been able to imagine something like a massage, so that was a lucky coincidence. Albeit that had come at the expense of her sister's sleep. She sighed.

Anna wanted to clear her mind now though, so she went for the exit of the castle. If she was up so early, she had to make use of it and see how it was outside at such a time.

Fortunately, the material of the clothes she wore was already thicker than that of the summer ones, because she quickly noticed that it was much chillier in the morning.

.

After a bit of walking, she came to the marketplace and immediately had to smile brightly. It was a great day, with the sun shining, so many people already lively in the streets and last but not least her courtship that seemed to be working. Maybe she really should get up early every day, she felt so full of energy now.

And she had to do something about it, because that burst urged her to move. So the princess started skipping through the market.

The citizens greeted her friendly, wishing her a good day and asking how she was. She caused everyone to smile, too, whom she talked to, it seemed to be contagious.

She was more interested in the people today than in the goods they were offering.

At the end of the aisle, the redhead suddenly saw something white and fluffy hovering in the air. A closer look made her realize that it was a flurry.

"Olaf?!" she shouted in the direction. She excused herself from a small group and ran to the spot.

.

The snowman was totally engulfed in all the different things that could be seen at the market. No matter how often he had been here, he still didn't cease to be amazed. Just like a child, the young woman thought with a smile as she came to a halt behind him.

She hunkered down and asked him, "Hey, Olaf, what are you doing here?"

The addressed instantly turned around and brightened up even more. "Ooh, Anna! You're here, too?" His feet pattered excitedly on the spot. "Look here, this beautiful scarf!" He pointed to one flaming orange-coloured, woollen object in front of him with brown circles on it. "I really like it, it's so soft and warm." He took the end of it and snuggled his cheek against it.

Anna looked at him lovingly and sighed. "You don't need a scarf, you know that?"

"I know, but everyone will be wearing one in winter, that's what that man told me." Now he pointed to the merchant. The princess looked up to him and received a shrug. "Just told him the truth." He obviously had no problem with a talking snowman.

"And you really want to have it?" she looked at him with raised eyebrows.

"Oh yes!" He turned around to her with shining eyes.

"All right..." She got up, taking the scarf, and asked for the price. She explained that she had no money about her, but he would get paid by the castle. The merchant nodded and wished her a good day finally.

.

When she started to walk away from the stand, Olaf started wailing beside her. "Hey, hey, give it to me, please! I want to wear it!" He reached out with his sticks.

"Now? But it's not winter yet. Autumn just came."

"But I like it now", he said, eyes big.

"Okay. You don't even notice the difference in temperature anyway." She gave one end of the scarf to him, letting him try his best with his too short arms to put it around his neck, while she wrapped the other end around it.

He looked down at himself in awe, jumping happily up and down, and Anna couldn't help grinning at that. She liked the snowman, but Elsa was closer to him. She was his creator, but sometimes she treated him kind of like a mother would. The thought warmed her chest, and she smiled fondly down at the unusual snowman. In that moment she couldn't help asking, "Olaf, do you still like warm hugs?"

"Yes, of course!" He opened his arms immediately.

The redhead knelt down on her right knee and hugged the snowy creature. "The scarf totally suits you", she said. In this position, she automatically got snowed on. But she didn't mind it, it only reminded her of her sister's incredible powers. She had put _life_ into this thing after all! Into this figure they had built together as children. The princess became all sentimental and pressed Olaf closer against her.

.

"I got a scarf and a hug from you, Anna. Today is a wonderful day!" the snowman exclaimed while patting the woman's back.

"I might agree to that, at least to an extent." She smirked at that.

"So what happened to you? Did you also get a scarf from someone?"

The two separated.

"No, but..." The corner of her mouth twitched. "Something else."

"What is it?" Olaf asked curiously.

The princess cast her eyes to the side. "I'm sorry, but I can't tell you", she spoke apologetically. If the snowman knew anything, it wouldn't stay with him. And that couldn't happen.

"Oh, is this a secret? I like secrets!"

She patted his head and started moving again. "Come on, I know something better than this secret."

He instantly followed her, his interest being piqued. "And that is...?"

"Us two spending more of this day together at the market. Or wherever."

.

They didn't see Olaf every day, because he often ran around inside and outside the castle as he liked, not exactly caring about obligatory good morning or goodnight wishes.

So she had used the opportunity and stayed with him until she had to go back for dinner.

Where she simply told Elsa about her day with the snowman and that he was now running around with his first piece of clothing.

The queen laughed, wondering how that would look. She was glad that Anna had still enjoyed this day after her (kind of) kicking her out in the morning.

And the princess was happy that her sister seemed to be better by now even though she had been so groggy and had had so much work to do. She deserved to have more free time, but that would come.

After the meal, they sat together and preferred to talk about random things just like sisters.

* * *

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 **A/N: My best friend helped me with the colours for Olaf's scarf, since the ones I chose first were rather ugly... xD Thanks for that! :3 Even if she probably won't read this...**

 **And since it's that time of the year, I guess that's the cue for saying the following: I wish you all a merry christmas!**

 **Unfortunately, we don't get any snow for christmas here (this year) :'( *sniffs* But anyway, enjoy these days! :3**


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: I'm sorry! I unofficially updated every Monday evening (where I live), but I got out of that rhythm because I don't know. I didn't write anything new in the past weeks, this chapter was still in the folder waiting for the final correction |D So I have to get back to this.**

 **I also lost a bit of my nerves because of my studying and realizing once again that exams are (too) soon |DD And I got new equipment for recording music and had to try that x3 And I cheated on you. Yeah, right, I found a new pairing in the meantime that I'm recently hyping about! You know how it is... You need something new once in a while. Haha, okay, the hell am I saying? xD Well, I wrote something for that pairing and suddenly have so many ideas for them, too. (It's Alice and the White Queen from Tim Burton's "Alice in Wonderland" by the way... x3) Too many ideas, and. . . I guess you know :/**

 **But yeah, here's this for now :) And maybe a tiny bit late, but I still wish you a Happy New Year!**

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* * *

Most often, the queen didn't need to be awoken by one of the maids in the morning – usually Gerda was the one to do this job for both the queen and princess – but the next morning, Elsa only started up upon a series of knocks on her door, accompanied by a firm yet calm voice calling her, "Queen Elsa!"

She sat up with a groan. Obviously, she had needed this night's sleep to catch up after the last one. She felt a lot better and immediately thought of Anna's massage work. She should let her be awoken, too, otherwise she might be disappointed or sad again, and she didn't want that to happen. The princess had had enough of those moments in the past. Even if it was meant for everyone's best. The blonde sighed and rose completely, saying in a louder voice toward the door, "Wake Anna, too, please."

"Now, Your Majesty?"

"Yes."

"As You say." And the woman left.

It was eight in the morning. Hopefully the redhead wouldn't be too tired.

.

Elsa got herself ready for the day. At least the part of getting dressed was easy and quickly done, since she had a dress created of her ice in less than a minute. Only her hair and make-up took a bit of time.

But it wasn't as much time as Anna needed, as she noticed when she came into the dining room and her sister was nowhere to be seen. And when she already took her seat, she still had to wait for half an hour, during which the servants asked her again and again if she wanted to get her breakfast, what she politely declined. They were obviously confused, even when she told them with the smallest smile that she wouldn't want any breakfast served until her sister would be there, too.

Why did they only now try to eat their breakfasts together?, the maids wondered. They were back in each other's life – _really_ back in each other's life – since two and a half months. But of course they didn't mention anything aloud.

.

When the princess came running into the room, a bit out of breath, she instantly looked for Elsa. As she saw her sitting there, her heart made a leap for joy and she couldn't help the huge grin coming onto her face.

Then she noticed that there were no foods and no drinks on the table yet, and she didn't know how to class that. So she slowly stepped toward her sister, starting with a worried, "I'm sorry, you know, my hair always takes so long in the morning and-"

"It's all right, Anna, I don't mind it. What I would mind though is if you're not going to sit down now", the older woman said with a playful smirk and watched how the addressed hurried over to the chair next to her, mumbling, "All right, all right."

Just as the redhead sat down and turned her head to her sister, she realized something that she had forgotten to say, "Oh, um, good morning..."

Elsa chuckled lightly and answered, "Good morning to you, too. I hope this isn't too early for you."

"No! No. It's totally fine. And Elsa?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you", Anna said with an affectionate expression, meaning both the waking and the waiting, and maybe even more.

The queen only smiled while watching her lovingly in the eyes.

Then she ordered for their breakfast to be served, which they enjoyed together for...the first time in forever.

.

* * *

.

During the following days, they continued to start their days together by getting up at around the same time to eat breakfast together. This little change already made both of them feel so much more content that they wondered why they hadn't done this any earlier.

Well, for Anna it was still some kind of struggle, it wasn't her natural wake-up time, but she really wanted to do this. Not only for the reason of playing a good suitor, but it really felt nice to have someone around during breakfast, to talk to, to have the first laugh of the day with, to simply have real company – not like the servants standing in the background and waiting for her orders. Especially if that someone was Elsa.

Plus, if she was there, the older woman was the one making the orders. It was always nice to see that, since the blonde never made them sound like a command and still got the message across. Albeit the princess herself was too stubborn to listen to them, as it had been shown when she had tried to get Elsa back down from her ice palace.

And it looked more natural, the way she was doing it, not as put-on as when Anna was trying to use authority. It always made her shiver subconsciously when she witnessed her older sister use it.

Yet she could still be so light-hearted – this one took some time actually – and kind of childish around the redhead. The latter loved both of those sides.

.

On the third day after their first joined breakfast, Elsa was once again sitting in her study. Most of the piles were gone, all of the important things being answered by now.

Her gaze went to the invitations once more, causing a sigh.

Both women had been acting rather usual around each other during the past days, although it held some awkwardness at the moment. This uneasy situation originated from both of them being still torn between a good sisterly relationship and behaving like being in a courtship. Both had been alone with their respective thoughts and didn't let anything on, really.

"Oh well", the queen mumbled and searched with her hand for the letter from Lunarez, already knowing what the envelope looked like by now. When she found it, she looked dolefully at the grey paper with the dark blue wax stamp that showed a crescent moon.

Her heartbeat quickened a tad as she took the letter out of it, unfolding it to read it again for the third time – the first one had been when she had received it, and the second one the morning after Anna had asked her to visit.

The pointed words in blue ink read the following:

.

 _To the kingdom of Arendelle, Her Majesty Queen Elsa of Arendelle_

 _The kingdom of Lunarez will be celebrating the rise of a red moon – the Blood Moon - during the night of the 26_ _th_ _of October to the 27_ _th_ _of October. The Blood Moon is a rare form of the Full Moon and can only be witnessed once in a few years.  
Since this is a special occasion for our kingdom, wearing the sign of the moon, I, King Fernando of Lunarez, would like to honour this great event with a grand ball. You and Princess Anna of Arendelle are herewith invited to attend it, with any company that You wish for.  
It would be a pleasure to call You my guests in my castle, You are welcome to stay for some days._

 _Yours sincerely,  
King Fernando of Lunarez_

.

26th of October... The ball would be in three weeks' time. Lunarez had great astronomers due to their interest in the moon and the stars as well, and they could calculate such an event precisely these days already.

Elsa felt a small tug at the pit of her stomach, thinking about the time. Three weeks could be so little, as she had experienced already since the happenings after her coronation. But three weeks could also be very long on the other hand... She honestly didn't know which one was better in this situation, or which one she preferred. She just couldn't make up her mind.

Why did it have to be so twisted? Her sister, her own _sister_ of all people.

.

She wasn't averse to women. Quite the contrary. Except for her father and Kai, there had always been women, and they had been kind to her. The maids who had had any contact with her felt sorry for how she had to live and had shown understanding, even if there had also been a bit of fear. They had always tried their best to cheer the girl up, to keep her going. And here she was.

Men hadn't made such a good impression on her, with her father telling her nothing but to conceal her feelings, even if it was part of being a royal later anyway. And especially with the Duke of Weselton and his men, and Prince Hans, who all wanted to kill her. She shuddered.

If that was what princes were like, she would prefer not to be in any closer embroilment with them. Even if she knew that she was supposed to need one.

.

While Anna had a completely different opinion of males. Not only had she craved to be with one all the time apparently, but during her later childhood and early teen years – as the redhead had told her herself – had she sneaked about with the young stable boy for example who was around her age, probably only a year or so older. They had been fooling around together during some of her riding lessons, explaining why the princess was both not the best at riding while liking physical exertion in the not-so lady-like way.

So she had had positive experiences with men, well, except for Hans obviously. But that hadn't stopped her from starting to engage with Kristoff afterwards, so it hadn't affected her too much, seemingly.

Why did she suddenly turn to women then?

Elsa's heart fluttered a bit. Why did she turn to _her_ in particular?

.

It would be a lie to say that the queen didn't like getting Anna's attention and even more of her time now. It was probably selfish, especially because she had ignored all this clinging attention for so, so many years, and some part of her felt bad for that.

It was a wonder that the younger one was still so willing with her. And had even decided to make her the object of her courting at that.

Which sounded just so weird. A woman courting a woman...

The blonde sighed. She should finally get over this point at least... She was in this already, and it wouldn't help anything if she went in circles with this basic point.

.

If she was against the idea so much, she should cancel it this very second actually.

But as her earlier thoughts had exposed, she liked their kindness, and her sister was so caring to her and always touched her the gentlest that she could muster, how could she not feel a certain liking from the beginning on in this case?

Right, if that was how things were, then why shouldn't she just give in to this chance, this possibility, and simply see what she could get out of it? And more than that, what she could give her beloved sister back, to help making up for her long lasting ignorance. She was kind of free to do that however she liked now, in this constellation.

It might also have its advantages, being able to do something without thinking how it might appear...

The queen winced at the thought, with it being so unlike the way of thinking she was taught. At the same time, a gasp for air escaped her, and she put a hand on her mouth while biting her lower lip.

It was probably a twisted way to look at it, but would this strange courtship give her some kind of freedom – what she had always wished for – even when she had to hide it from other people...?

.

She exhaled loudly while closing her eyes for a short moment and swallowed.

When she opened them, she was reaching for a piece of paper and her quill.

Without giving it another thought, she started writing her answering lines:

.

 _To the kingdom of Lunarez, His Majesty King Fernando of Lunarez_

 _I, Queen Elsa of Arendelle, and my sister, Princess Anna of Arendelle, would very much like to attend the ball You were speaking of together.  
On a side note, I only wanted to mention that there is no necessity to prepare two different rooms for us, we can very well share one together._

 _Yours sincerely,  
Queen Elsa of Arendelle_

* * *

.

 **A/N: I'm pretty sure I totally failed at those "letters"... xD |D**

 **Anyway, here's finally something more specific about the ball. I actually had the idea with the Blood Moon for a party as a basic point even before I heard that last year in September we would REALLY be having one :D So I felt obliged to watch it. It wasn't that cool, but psht.**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: So here I am back with a new chapter! I have been studying for exams... |D And I'm not completely happy with this chapter. I guess that's because it's basically only dialogue, but I didn't know any better. I hope you'll be okay with it.**

 **And I won't make any promises for when the next chapter(s) will come xP  
**

 **PS: I seem to like the study... 8D  
**

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* * *

She was so quite. For some time now actually. To the younger woman, it looked like she was thinking hard about something though. Not in a far-off way, rather like concentrating.

She had watched her closely for the whole day, and noticed that there was something going on in the queen's mind.

"Elsa, what is it?" she finally asked during dinner after putting down her fork and knife. Anna focused all her attention on her sister.

"Oh, hm, what?" Elsa started totally oblivious to her exact words, shaking her head to get out of her mind's world.

The redhead gave her a small smile upon that reaction – it wasn't very often that the older one got so lost around her. So she tried again. "What's on your mind?"

.

"I'm...not sure how to put one title to it, but it's circling around something."

"So what is it?" Anna cocked her head to the side, curious about the answer.

"Well, it's..." The queen looked downwards to the side, being fully aware of the servants in the room. So now it would start with being careful about her words. "I sent an answering letter to Lunarez yesterday" she stated neutrally, but her lips curled up to a smile after finishing.

" _Oh_ , that...sounds good, I guess? So what's the matter?" Anna repeated once more, this time with a beaming smile though after seeing Elsa's little smirk.

"I can't tell you" the older woman simply said, looking down to her meal and continuing to eat. She didn't say this with worry nor fear but even with some mirth in her voice.

The shorter woman could only stare at her open-mouthed upon this blatant rejection. "Wow, that..." This seemed unlike her older sibling. And this smile still stayed on her lips... How would she get to know her sister's thoughts?

"But I want to know! Please!" The princess tried with puppy dog eyes.

Elsa only shook her head slightly while her eyes were still focused on her food.

"Pretty please?" Blue eyes shot up to hers, with some warning edge in them.

The queen straightened up and mumbled through her teeth, "Not here."

Anna had a surprised look on her face, not having expected this.

"So, how was your day?" the blonde asked nonchalantly to pass time for the rest of their evening meal. Anna didn't know what else to do but to comply, being confused and curious about the mysterious mood of the other one.

.

The moment they were out of the room and in the hall, the redhead skipped in front of Elsa, grinning, and making her inevitably stop. "Sooo, what's all this about? When will you tell me?" she tried right ahead.

The taller woman was startled and answered, "It's not that big a thing. I don't know why you're so curious." She gave her a sceptical look, wondering what her little sister was expecting here.

"Actually, _you_ made it that big!" She had put her hand up while saying that and was pointing her index finger at Elsa.

Said person put her own hand on hers and was lightly pushing it down while starting to move around her to continue their walk. "It's not proper behaviour to point at someone like that, you know that", she said in a mild voice as she closed her eyes, not liking to tell her beloved sister how she had to behave. Sometimes it seemed necessary to her though.

"It's also not proper to make someone impatient like this!" Anna jumped in her way again.

.

The two guards patrolling the hall were already glancing at them, what didn't go unnoticed by their queen. She was lowering her head abruptly to her sister's one, interfering with her personal space. The younger one ducked her head backwards at this, being taken by surprise, almost missing her following words. "I already told you – Not. Here", she hissed, looking her intently in the eyes to convey her being serious.

"O-Okay", the princess could only reply. Her gaze was darting between her two eyes. "But why?" She was staring back at the older woman, wondering what was going on. Her coming this close with that intensity was intimidating her somewhat, but it also caused a funny, interesting feeling in her. Her eyes were just wandering downwards to the pink lips as Elsa grabbed her by her upper arm and pulled her towards the study. Anna was so perplexed that she didn't even try to struggle herself free but followed suit when the blonde let go of her arm after a few metres.

.

Once inside said room, Elsa sighed deeply.

Her sister watched her expectantly. They hadn't spoken a word on the way, and all this behaviour seemed just so weird to her. But there was something that she _had_ noticed. Behind these mysterious words and the silence as well was some special spark in her aura, a certain glint in her eyes. It was determination.

It definitely suited her; not only because she was a queen, but after her insecurity due to her childhood. Once again, the older woman had been able to make an impression on her, and she was wondering about her own qualities in this field.

But before she could get lost too much in those thoughts, Elsa had walked to the window and started speaking now with a combination of worry and instruction in her voice: "Anna, listen to me. I already told you this when you asked me. No one must know of this, especially when it's nothing too sure yet. It's one thing if my behaviour seems strange, but to know what _exactly_ that comes from... Well, that's a different thing. In this case especially."

The redhead was staring blankly at her upon this little speech. She didn't understand this completely, so she asked being in thought with knitted eyebrows, " And...what does that have to do with what was happening in the dining room and the hall?"

.

The queen turned around and looked her in the eye. "It's pretty simple actually. We were surrounded by servants and guards. And I'm pretty sure they were suspicious... They would have heard it, too, had I told you anything. And I simply don't want that to happen." She watched how her little sister was taking that in.

"So you will always act all secretive when it's something concerning...us?" It sounded weird saying that. It was such a natural phrase, being so simple yet meaning so much in this context. They were so far from what it could imply at most, but she was wishing that it would be that one day. These thoughts made her lower her head shyly.

"I'm... I'm afraid so. But I will see what will be possible."

The sound of that convinced her to look up again and in her sister's eyes with hope.

"And to answer your basic question: I made a decision for my own. As I said, I wrote my reply to King Fernando, saying that we will come. As I was doing so, I realized that it's silly to skip between morals like I was doing. So I already said this, but I will repeat it meaning it in every way: I accept you as my suitor." She held her head up high in regality and pride. When she continued, a smile added to her appearance. "That means I do accept things regarding a courtship of course, but all in a way that is appropriate." She was making a pause at this, because she wanted Anna to realize her previous haste with matters of love and romance.

When that happened, said person ducked her head in shame and turned slightly red.

.

Elsa started to move closer to her. "But I hope that I got across that I'm open for this now. Really open. And when I was in thought today", she stopped in front of her sister-turned-suitor, "I was thinking about what exactly that means. What I need to do... What I can do... Some situations that can happen every day. How I am supposed to behave towards you. It's something so different yet somewhat simple. I mean, it's not exactly something else. Only... _more_." She was looking to the side at this, unsure, rubbing her right arm lightly with the other hand. An old sign of nervousness.

.

During all of this, Anna had stared at her open-mouthed. She was overwhelmed. Her sister always could express herself so on point. And she loved it that the older one was now so honest with her, telling her all these things. So she said totally sounding like off-topic, "Thank you, Elsa." Her left hand went up to cover the restless one of the addressed, clasping it with a smile on her mouth.

When it was taken away from her arm, disturbed in its ministration, its owner looked back to the person responsible.

"I'll try not being...too fast. Not jumping into things too fast. I mean, I already did take things slow with Kristoff, but if you're mentioning it explicitly like this... Wait, I didn't mean to talk about him now! And not that I meant anything in particular or-" She closed her eyes in anger at herself and wore a sour expression on her face. "Sorry, I mean...", she tried, but didn't know how to make this better now. She definitely wasn't as good with words as her sister.

To save her from any further embarrassment, the queen squeezed the hand holding hers in the space between them. "It's all right...", she said absent-mindedly. She didn't even want to think about which depths the interactions of the two might have had exactly, even if her mind started to drift off into those directions automatically. Her sister was pure, albeit she had seemed ready for the...physical parts as well since she had seen her again after their long separation at her coronation. Not that the younger one had never been "physical" before... Yet, this was something else.

The blonde herself wasn't so ready for that. Touching hadn't been a part of her upbringing, the complete opposite was what had been the case. By now, she was okay with basic touches, such as any normal hand touching, and hugs. The massage Anna had given her had been something that had already felt weird and subliminally discomforting at first. She needed her time to get used to this.

.

"Hey, is really everything all right...?"

The voice snapped her out of those thoughts, making her realize that she had stared slightly grimly ahead. So she shook her head clear and said, "Yes, yes, don't worry."

When the redhead still looked at her unconvincedly, she sighed and took her hand back down to her side. A small smile put on her lips, she announced while studying the features of her counterpart, "As long as nothing happens too rashly... All that matters right now is that we are going to attend the ball of Lunarez. Together."

And with this, the princess was smiling happily again. Her sister was actually willing now. She didn't want to mess that up. She wanted to please her, to show her that it was worth it. That _she_ was worth it. That she was worth this queen. This person.

Her heart beat faster at the thought and she felt her smile deepen into a grin that she had to bite down at one side of her mouth. Some red had probably found its way onto her cheeks as well.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: I'm still trying to find out which use of line breaks and paragraphs my personal "best" way is :/**

 **And I can finally advance plot-wise. What leads me to a reply to the guest reviewer "pewpewpew": I see your point. And I do have stuff in mind :P It's just that I wanted to get it a bit more "realistic" after my premise of their (not really yet) feelings in the beginning, so I had to delve into some thoughts.  
**

 **I hope this chapter will be better! :3**

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* * *

While Anna slept happily that night, Elsa wasn't unhappy either, but her own determination and her thoughts about her behaviour kept her pretty much awake. It had been the same the night before, so the blonde let out a sigh as she stared at the ceiling of her canopy bed. She rolled onto her side and got up. As she walked to the window and let her gaze wander over the dark scenery, she noticed at some time that the stars were showing. That usually meant that it was going to be cold. But she never actually noticed.

The queen looked down at herself, clad in only her thin ice nightgown. No robe needed. Anna would probably be very cold. Her lips curled upwards at the thought of the other woman. When they travelled to Lunarez, the redhead would need something warm to wear. The guests would surely go into the gardens as well to watch the spectacle.

The thought made Elsa wonder what _she_ was going to wear. She grumbled lowly, stepping back to her bed after one last look outside the window. She should try to get some sleep.

.

* * *

.

Getting up for breakfast was still a little fight against herself for the princess, but it was working pretty well by now. It felt weird having these few hours more of the day, but she saw Elsa early in the day this way. And she liked to see her after getting up, to hear what her plans for the day were. Even if it was her queenly work to do. She felt somewhat bad about it; her sister sometimes spent the whole day on her work, while she on the other hand had so much free time to do whatever she pleased. Maybe...she should do something about that.

.

This morning, she was surprised to find herself being downstairs before her sister. She slowed down when she didn't see the blonde in the room, and the servants told her that she was the first of the two to arrive for their breakfast. Wondering, she sat down at her usual spot. Waiting, she was tempted to start toying with the knife next to her plate.

The entrance of the queen prevented her from such un-princessly behaviour.

The redhead smiled happily at Elsa, getting up to hug her along with a good morning wish. "Are you all right?" she asked with the slightest of worry.

The older woman knitted her brows while returning the hug, answering, "Yes, of course, why wouldn't I?"

"Because you're always the first of us to be somewhere... Usually."

"Well, then let me be second once in a while." The blonde said softly as she had a small smile on her lips, cocking her head a little bit to the side.

They held each other's gaze for a moment longer, before Elsa started to move around her younger sibling to sit down.

Anna lowered her head and grinned lightly, turning her head to the side where the queen sat. "Right... A lady may be fashionably late." She went back to her seat and took it again.

"Though punctuality is expected of a monarch. If they want to be a respectable one."

"Oh relax, Elsa! You're absolutely on time", the younger one wanted to calm her down again.

.

The taller woman only sighed while their breakfast was served. She had had trouble getting up this morning after hardly falling asleep during the night. Determination was a funny thing. It flooded you with energy, causing you to be so much alive and awake – both at day and at night.

She looked at her sister. The younger woman sat up straight, smiling all the time while reaching for the pieces she wanted to eat. She was so vibrant; apparently, her sleep had been better than hers. Elsa laughed almost soundlessly and shook her head. The princess was obviously in joy, yet had she kept true to her word and hadn't jumped to any further steps. The blonde wasn't sure about her own next moves, but they were maybe an indicator for Anna, if the younger one was that observant.

.

After their first meal of the day, the two sisters went along the halls, Elsa with the study as her destination, and Anna simply followed her.

When they went down the last hall to it, they could already see someone standing in front of it.

"Oh", Elsa said, stopping for only a short moment, in which the man noticed the royal pair and said in a risen voice while beginning to walk towards them, "Your Majesty! And Your Royal Highness. Good morning. You called for me to discuss the latest matters of finances." It was the respecting minister. He wore a smile that made his curled moustache look nice to his equally upwards-curled lips.

"Right, I asked him to meet me after breakfast..." Elsa remembered with a huff.

"Don't tell me you've forgotten." The princess raised an eyebrow at this.

"Oh, but _you_ know my appointments, or what?" the queen asked in a mixture of light anger and teasing. She started to move again and put on her regal attitude as she faced the black-haired man.

.

"Weeell, I was in the same room as you were when you made that one", the redhead tried as she also continued to walk.

"So... Why are you coming with me?" Elsa wondered in a hushed voice, turning her head slightly to the side.

Anna wondered at that, too, in that moment. "I...guess I wanted to follow you?" Then a thought crossed her mind. "And maybe someone has to make sure our queen doesn't forget anything else this morning." Her voice was low and closer to the blonde's ear as she had put a hand around the other's arm, leaning into her side. She poked her tongue out playfully afterwards.

"How _nice_ of you", Elsa replied with a mock grin. On the inside, she was positively surprised though. The younger one hardly participated in any of the tougher work; she had no interest in it and the older woman also let her have her fun. But she didn't want to forbid her any contribution. A real smile showed on her lips when she still felt Anna's arm linked through hers. The redhead never cared about such things. That was lucky for them, because that way it didn't look too weird for the people who usually surrounded them.

.

As soon as the three of them were inside the study, taking seats at a larger table next to the door, the reason why she usually didn't do this began to dawn on Anna once more – pure, terrible boredom. She had no real connection to money and wasn't interested in calculation at all. So she sighed a deep sigh when Elsa sat down and looked through the files that she wanted to discuss.

Oh, how was that about changing? Trying to help her with the work? The things you do to make a good impression on someone... The shorter one was trying and straightened her back, looking the most regal way that she could muster. Not that she wasn't trained in this... She put her hands up on the table and folded them, looking to her side at the blonde. "Soo...what will you be talking about?" she wanted to get a summary.

The queen grinned to herself at the "show" of the other woman. In her eyes, it always looked funny when she tried to actually behave like a good princess. Not that she was a bad one. Only...not the role model-type of princess perhaps. But she loved her sister just like that.

"Right, I would like to know that, too, Your Majesty." The minister brought her back to topic.

"Yes, of course. Well, at first, I wanted to talk about the spendings that we made in September." She moved the appendant sheets of paper so that she could read them. "Oh, I do expect you have the respective sheets with you?" Elsa looked up at him to make sure.

"Indeed I do." He nodded and took the mentioned pieces out of his briefcase.

"Good." She continued, "Afterwards, the income... And what both mean for the balance and the upcoming months."

"All right. So, as I see the following..." The finance minister put his index finger on the first file, drawing it along a certain line and directly started his explanation of the report and his opinion about tendencies.

.

Anna blew out some air right at the beginning, being able to hear these things for the first time and noticing they...weren't her cup of tea. She leaned back against the seat, knitting her eyebrows in concentration on listening. This was so incredibly boring! How the heck did Elsa do this? So often and... - Her head turned to her side. Her sister was politely smiling through her seriousness. - ...so nicely. She groaned as faintly as she could, trying to keep her posture half-way graceful.

"Would Her Royal Highness like to add something?" the minister asked towards her direction.

She instantly straightened up again, putting her hands up and shaking them in the negative. "Oh, no no no no no, please, just continue and don't mind me. I'm...only listening."

Elsa chuckled lightly behind a hand, explaining to her minister, "That's right. Anna wanted to- Well, it's obviously not exactly participating, but... She wanted to see how this kind of work works."

The man nodded in understanding and opined, "That's very thoughtful of You, Princess Anna."

"Maybe one day she'll actually help me, by my side."

.

The soft voice disturbed the redhead somewhat. She jerked around to the queen in her seat, only able to blurt out a too loud "Er, what?! Elsa!" Some colour crept onto her cheeks, a combination of embarrassment from hearing the blonde saying she could help her, saying it _like that_ and her own reaction. "Sorry...", she said meekly after clearing her throat and returning to her composure outwardly.

"If I may give my opinion to that, it would be a good idea if Princess Anna wanted that, too. Two minds allow a larger perspective on something, and four hands get more work done. Though the only handiwork You are occupied with is paperwork, but that can get pretty much sometimes."

"I don't press her", the taller woman simply said, all the while looking at Anna lovingly. "As queen, this is still my work to do."

The older man inclined his head in understanding and confirmation. "So, as for the income from our export...", he continued at the previous point.

.

The princess turned her head ahead and was looking into space, eyebrows knitted, thinking about their spoken words. She should see what she could help Elsa with. A glance back at the blonde – she herself was already lost to the thread again – and she could only admire her for this energy in such a dry topic. This was a queen who deserved her title, even if she was young for this high and responsible rank.

At some point, the redhead lost herself completely in her thoughts, staring at her sister, taking in her movements – from time to time a nod, her lips when she spoke -, not listening. Drifting off.

When suddenly something cold touched her thigh, she jumped in her seat, squeaking gracelessly. Her hand automatically moved to the offended spot, hitting the cold object, only to notice that it wouldn't budge. On the contrary, it applied even more pressure on her cloth-covered flesh. She looked down in a panic, calming down and getting nervous at the same time as she saw it was Elsa's hand, covered in a very thin layer of ice. It was enough cold to bother her, but not enough to hurt. The princess gritted her teeth and looked up at the person responsible.

.

The queen pretended not knowing what was going on with the other woman, raising a questioning eyebrow at her.

"Is something wrong, Your Royal Highness?" the finance minister asked in a surprised voice. From his position, he couldn't see that the blonde's forearm and hand had moved.

The addressed grasped the unpleasant piece with her hand forcefully, lifting it from her more sensitive thigh. Having been physically active all her life, it had paid off as she had a certain strength to provide, even in her hands. "I-I, no, pardon me, I- just saw a spider", she stammered in an attempt to save some of her dignity in this situation. Her grotesque smile didn't exactly support that.

"Oh, I didn't know You were scared of them", the man tried to converse.

"Neither did I", the queen added with a knowing smile, leaning with her free arm on the table, putting her chin in that hand.

Anna felt her hand pushing down in hers, frantically sliding her other hand flatly beneath it to stop it from making any contact again. She absent-mindedly enclosed it in both her hands completely then, keeping her pretence up by saying, "Well, they are kind of...disgusting, aren't they?" That was probably the most stereotypical princess-like opinion she had "stated" in a while.

"I might not agree with you. I don't mind them." Elsa was looking with a grin on her face in the shorter one's eyes, receiving a glare before turning her attention back to the person opposite to her after he cleared his throat. "Continue, please."

.

The princess didn't know what to do, she still had the other one's hand in hers and that one didn't cease the cold at all. "Bad hand", she thought as she directed her glare now down to it. The temperature was annoying, but Elsa didn't make any move to retreat it, so she slowly but steadily started to rub it, hoping that what the minister saw of it wouldn't look too odd.

The queen had decided to let Anna keep her hand, seeing what she would do with it, while she easily followed the actual discussion, listening to the evaluation of her finance minister regarding the upcoming months. At some point, she felt her hand being very warm and smiled at the sensation. Relaxed, she leaned back in her seat, closing her eyes contently for just a moment.

The redhead was focusing on her task, but when she noticed that the hand had regained a nice warmth, she simply hold it between her hands, the bundle lying in her lap. Elsa's fingers curled and grasped the lower one of Anna's hands. She smiled at the reaction, looking up and seeing her sister still concentrated on the business, but with a content posture. Suddenly it made her wonder. She got a little blush on her cheeks and bored her gaze into the table. They were...holding hands... weren't they? In some way? She closed her eyes being flustered, hurriedly turning her head away from the other two.

.

After some more minutes, the appointment was over. Elsa had slipped her hand out of Anna's, gotten up and was now saying goodbye to her minister. He inclined his head in respect and before he went, directed some words at the redhead. "Goodbye to You as well, Your Royal Highness. Maybe You'll decide to be at another meeting again. It was...refreshing."

The addressed didn't really know what to say in her still agitated state, so she settled on an "I'll... I'll see, yes. Goodbye."

After that, the man left the room. Anna stared for a moment longer at the door. Then she faced her sister, red again on her cheeks. "Would you please tell me what the _heck_ that was supposed to be?"

The blonde took the files and put them back to where she stored them in the filing cabinet. In a calm voice she explained, "You were not really participating, staring at me mindlessly and almost fell asleep. I needed to keep you busy."

"Well that part worked...", the younger woman said under her breath. She sighed and didn't know what to do now.

.

"I guess you can go recover from this now." There was some mirth in the queen's voice, and when she turned around to the other woman, she had a content, small happy smile on her face, eyes still directed at the floor though. They went upwards as she spoke carefully, "But... Only if you'd like... You can of course...be part...of this." She jerked her head in an implicative manner, standing here among all that which meant royal work. "Of everything."

Anna gulped at that. That was probably her way of referring to her previous words when the minister had still been around. It was funny how the taller woman was insecure after he had left. Now the princess was the one to look down. "I'll...try. I would like to, but I'm new to this. I guess I'll need someone to instruct me."

"I would."

.

" _Oh!_ " the redhead snapped up quickly, a challenging look in her eyes. "But no more ' _spiders'_. I totally embarrassed myself there!"

" _That_ was your own fault. I wouldn't say I didn't have fun." She angled her head only slightly to the side.

After a short silence, she added, "Now go or I'll give you more of that."

"All right, all right...", Anna grumbled in defeat, walking to the door, and began to wonder if she really minded it that much. After all, the whole action had been...interesting. She had had Elsa's hand on her...thigh, right... - She mentally cleared her throat. - And then she had gotten to hold it. That was indeed something good about it, she told herself, closing her hands with a smile as she remembered the feeling of the other one.


End file.
